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Well, the Lakland was a dud exercise. Firstly the J pickup didn't fit as it is too small, and then the MM when wired in, and this, according to several sources, was out of phase. So I'm putting some money together for a set of Delano pickups. The chaps over at basstheworld say that they are a good choice. The stock Cort pickups are just too not up to snuff, and the neck J is sooooo much weaker than the MM. Perhaps if it were equal.. It's funny, cos I remember playing the previous incarnation of the GB-75JH, the very light woody version, and being quite impressed with the pickups.
Delano are great ! I own a Cort Arona IV in past, those low cost Desonic pup (J neck/ MM bridge ) just sound great and thunders!
The pickups were Bartolini MK1. I've owned several basses with the Bart MK1 pickups: 2 from Cort and 1 from Ibanez. I've never had any problem on how they sound. To my ears, they just have their own sound. Though, on a couple of the them, I swapped the MK1 pickups with US made Bartolini Classic Bass series (the MK6CBC for the 6 string MK1 and MK5CBC for the 5 string MK1).
Bart MK is a form factor of its own. The dimensions are available on Bartolini website. These aren't the same as any of EMG soapbars.
I emailed Cort about those very pickups - but Cort don't respond, only the local distributors, who sadly couldn't help. So full blown, made in Germany Delanos it is for me
Thanks for the info.
I'm getting it at a great price, so I just thought change it out, but I suppose best not to judge until I've had it in my hands and listened to it through my own rig. Y'know, like following my own advice to others.
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There are a few of alternates, if you're going to replace the stock Bart MK1 pickups. But, none from EMG. The exact MK form factor replacements only available from US made Bartolini which come with quite many flavors. Inside the MK1 soapbar housing is a reverse Precision split coil, whilst the US Bart MK replacements can be a classic Precision split coil (MK6P), a dual rail Bart Original Bass (MK6C), a dual rail Bart Classic Bass (MK6CBC), a Jazz single coil (MK6S), a humbucking Jazz in-line split coil (MK6J), or the double of the in-line split (MK62J).
Other than those, the MK pickup routing is also compatible with replacements in the form factor named Bartolini P2 or Aguilar D2 size available from US Bart, Aguilar, Delano, Nordstrand, and Seymour Duncan. Although, you need to watch out for its internal coil/rail(s) width from the specs sheet. Cause, many of the P2 size pickups are kinda optimized for 5 strings, thus, might not have wide enough sensing coil/rail(s).
Thanks for the Bart info.
I realised this a bit after my last post and sent off some emails last night making enquiries re the sensing window width.
A question. I'm struggling with the bridge saddles. The B to D sit well(ish), but the G is either way off the pickup poles or the string, when aligned, is at an alarming angle from the bridge 'string hole'.
A. Do I need to swap saddles, a la Hipshot KickAss, or B. can I easily adjust things as they stand?
My thanks in advance...
Julian
A. Do I need to swap saddles, a la Hipshot KickAss, or B. can I easily adjust things as they stand?
My thanks in advance...
Julian
Thanks for the reply @Snert... Yeah, the cosmetics just drive me dilly.
The bridge's slotted saddles are designed for 16.5 to 19mm spacing I believe. I could be wrong on the numbers, but it is made for variable spacing...
I swapped out the Omega saddles for a set of Kickass solved that, and allows the saddle blocks to sit more evenly in relation to the plate by using the 3 sizes of inserts that come with the set.
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Hello mate
Well, I was looking at your NBD pics and then at my pic - back and forth for ages - and then it dawned on me that the strings (by the chap I bought the bass from) had gone through the 2nd saddle screw hole [[ as far as I can tell, you can run the screws in different holes to achieve different spacings ]]. I swapped the strings to the "bottom" hole and while it's not perfect... it is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better!!!!!
Many thanks for the inputs folks... a head scratcher for me, but once the penny had dropped
Am considering a Sandberg bridge... here in the UK, about £15 more than "just" replacing the saddles. I do like the Hipshots... interested to know how the spacing works though - is it with an Allen key (Hex wrench)?
SANDBERG BASS BRIDGE 5-STRINGS CHROME - Fred's Guitar Parts (fredguitar.com)
SANDBERG BASS BRIDGE 5-STRINGS CHROME - Fred's Guitar Parts (fredguitar.com)
The upper holes are actually for bridge saddles to "invert" the configuration for left handers.Hello mate
Well, I was looking at your NBD pics and then at my pic - back and forth for ages - and then it dawned on me that the strings (by the chap I bought the bass from) had gone through the 2nd saddle screw hole [[ as far as I can tell, you can run the screws in different holes to achieve different spacings ]]. I swapped the strings to the "bottom" hole and while it's not perfect... it is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better!!!!!
Many thanks for the inputs folks... a head scratcher for me, but once the penny had dropped
View attachment 4692138 View attachment 4692139
Yeah, I figured.... been playing bass for so many years and just so used to "simple" bridges I think that it didn't even cross my mind to look at the rear bout hahahaha
Lesson learned!
Play a new B5 element , different hand feeling on neck and preamp EQ tone range compare to B5 plus.
The Bart mkq pre Mid knob work like normal mid control, unlike Markbass pre on B5 plus which work like Low-Mid voice.
The fretboard radius has flatter feel too.
Just like previous BY plus, overall tone still a bit heavy MID forward to my taste. But the build quality and hardware use are step above the Ibanez SR5xx and 6xx.
The Bart mkq pre Mid knob work like normal mid control, unlike Markbass pre on B5 plus which work like Low-Mid voice.
The fretboard radius has flatter feel too.
Just like previous BY plus, overall tone still a bit heavy MID forward to my taste. But the build quality and hardware use are step above the Ibanez SR5xx and 6xx.
I asked a while back about the lack of love here for the Action Junior.
Did a bit of digging online and finally identified the strings that came on mine s/h as TI Jazz flats (whee!). Makes a very nice noise, and the scale and neck width of the bass combined with the feel of the strings make it just fun to play. A highly recommended setup.
And if you feel GAS coming they're so cheap that to buy another for alternative string choices doesn't cost a fortune. The only thing stopping me is that I already have all three colours with different strings. Come on, Cort, time for another colour option?
Did a bit of digging online and finally identified the strings that came on mine s/h as TI Jazz flats (whee!). Makes a very nice noise, and the scale and neck width of the bass combined with the feel of the strings make it just fun to play. A highly recommended setup.
And if you feel GAS coming they're so cheap that to buy another for alternative string choices doesn't cost a fortune. The only thing stopping me is that I already have all three colours with different strings. Come on, Cort, time for another colour option?
